JP2016081279A - Printing system, printing method, server, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing system capable of avoiding the useless use of a storage device due to the storage of the job data of all print jobs in a server when communication between a cloud server and a gateway is interrupted, and the execution result of a print job by a printing device is not acquirable.SOLUTION: A server is configured to, when communication with a gateway is interrupted prior to the acquisition of the execution result of a print job during or after the transmission of the print job to the gateway, determine whether the print mode of the print job is a first print mode or a second print mode by print mode determination means (S112, S113); and to, when it is determined that the print mode of the print job is the first print mode by the print mode determination means (S112: YES), delete the job data from job data storage means (S109), and to, when it is determined that the print mode of the print job is the second print mode (S113: YES), store the job data in the job data storage means (S116).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a server that receives a print job from an external device such as a personal computer or a printing device, a gateway to which the print job is transmitted from the server, a printing system including a printing device that executes printing, a printing method, a server, and Regarding the program.

  As a printing system as described above, when a user instructs a cloud server to specify a print job specifying a printing device to execute printing from an external device such as a personal computer, a smartphone, or a printing device, the cloud server accepts the print job. At the same time, it establishes a communication session with the gateway in the local net and sends the print job to the gateway. The gateway forwards the print job to the designated printing device in the same local net, and the printing device executes the print job. The system is known.

  The cloud server stores the job data of the received print job, and when the result of successful completion of the print job by the printing apparatus is acquired via the gateway, the stored job data is deleted.

  By the way, since communication between the cloud server and the gateway in the local network is performed via an Internet network such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) or optical fiber, communication between the cloud server and the gateway depends on congestion and transmission quality. May be blocked and the execution result of the print job by the printing apparatus may not be acquired.

  In this case, the cloud server that cannot obtain the execution result of the print job saves the job data of the print job on the server so that the print job that exists on the server can be executed again by the printing device in preparation for the execution failure of the print job. It is possible to keep it.

  According to Patent Document 1, when an error such as a paper jam, out of paper, or out of toner occurs and the printer cannot be used, another printer on the local network can be searched and printed by the other searched printer. A technique for generating a print job is disclosed.

JP 2002-189581 A

  However, when the communication between the cloud server and the gateway is interrupted and the execution result of the print job by the printing device cannot be obtained, the job data of all the print jobs are stored on the server. There is a problem that the storage capacity of the storage device is wasted, and the storage device cannot be used effectively. In particular, since many printing devices are associated with the server under management, it is desirable to avoid storing unnecessary job data as much as possible and to suppress an increase in processing load.

  Note that the technology described in Patent Document 1 described above cannot provide a solution to the above-described problem when communication between the cloud server and the gateway is interrupted and a print job execution result cannot be obtained by the printing apparatus. Absent.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a technical background. When the communication between the cloud server and the gateway is interrupted and the execution result of the print job by the printing apparatus cannot be acquired, all printing is performed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing system and a printing method capable of avoiding useless use of a storage device by storing job data of a job in a server, and further to provide a server and a program used in the printing system.

The above problem is solved by the following means.
(1) A printing system including a server, a gateway, and a printing device connected via a network, wherein the server receives a print job including designation of the printing device and job data to be printed from an external device. Print job accepting means, job data saving means for saving job data of the print job accepted by the print job accepting means, and job data of the print job accepted by the print job accepting means at the designated printing device A transmission unit that transmits a print instruction for printing to the gateway and transmits job data of the print job to the gateway; and an execution result acquisition unit that acquires an execution result of the print job from the gateway. The gateway prints sent from the server Receiving means for receiving a job, job transferring means for transferring the received print job to the designated printing apparatus, execution result acquiring means for acquiring an execution result of the print job from the printing apparatus, and the execution result Printing result notifying means for notifying the server of the execution result of the print job acquired by the acquiring means to the server, the printing apparatus executing the print job transferred from the gateway; Printing result notification means for notifying the gateway of the execution result of the print job by the printing means, and the server further includes the execution result acquisition means during or after transmission of the print job to the gateway. If the communication with the gateway is interrupted before obtaining the print job execution result by the print job, When the print mode determination unit determines whether the print mode is the first print mode or the second print mode, and the print mode determination unit determines that the print mode of the print job is the first print mode. And a control unit that deletes the job data from the job data storage unit and holds the job data in the job data storage unit when it is determined that the job is in the second print mode. And printing system.
(2) The external device is the printing device, the first printing mode is a printing job from the printing device, and the second printing mode is a printing job from other than the printing device. The printing system described.
(3) The server includes a determination unit that determines whether destination information other than the job sender is included in the print job, and determines that destination information other than the job sender is not included by the determination unit. 3. The printing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit of the server deletes the job data from the job data storage unit even in the second printing mode.
(4) When the communication with the gateway is interrupted, the server performs access to the gateway at a polling interval shorter than the polling interval when the communication is not interrupted. 4. The printing system according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the execution result acquisition unit acquires the execution result of the print job.
(5) A printing method executed by a printing system connected via a network and including a server, a gateway, and a printing device, wherein the server designates the printing device and job data to be printed from an external device. A print job receiving step for receiving a print job including: a step for storing job data of a print job received in the print job receiving step in a stored job data storage unit; and a job data for the print job received in the print job receiving step. , Transmitting a print instruction for printing with the designated printing apparatus to the gateway, transmitting job data of the print job to the gateway, and obtaining an execution result of the print job from the gateway Execute the execution result acquisition step The gateway receives a print job transmitted from the server, a job transfer step for transferring the received print job to the designated printing device, and obtains a print job execution result from the printing device. An execution result acquisition step, and a print result notification step of notifying the server of an execution result of the print job by the printing apparatus acquired in the execution result acquisition step. The printing apparatus is transferred from the gateway. A print step for executing the print job, and a reply step for returning the execution result of the print job in the print step to the gateway, wherein the server further transmits the print job to the gateway. Or the print result obtained by the execution result acquisition step after transmission. A print mode determination step for determining whether the print mode of the print job is a first print mode or a second print mode when communication with the gateway is interrupted before obtaining the execution result of the print job; When it is determined in the print mode determination step that the print mode of the print job is the first print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage unit and is determined to be the second print mode. In this case, a control step of holding the job data in the job data storage unit is executed.
(6) A server connected to the gateway and the printing apparatus via a network, the print job receiving means for receiving a print job including designation of the printing apparatus and job data to be printed from an external apparatus, and the print job reception A job data storage unit for storing job data of the print job received by the unit, and a print instruction for printing the job data of the print job received by the print job reception unit on the specified printing apparatus to the gateway. A transmission unit that transmits job data of the print job to the gateway, an execution result acquisition unit that acquires an execution result of the print job from the gateway, and a transmission of the print job to the gateway. Alternatively, after the transmission, the print job by the execution result acquisition means Print mode determination means for determining whether the print mode of the print job is a first print mode or a second print mode when communication with the gateway is interrupted before obtaining the execution result of When the mode determination means determines that the print mode of the print job is the first print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage means and it is determined that the print mode is the second print mode Comprises a control means for holding the job data in the job data storage means.
(7) In the preceding item 6, the external device is the printing device, the first printing mode is a printing job from the printing device, and the second printing mode is a printing job from other than the printing device. The listed server.
(8) A determination unit that determines whether destination information other than the job sender is included in the print job, and when the determination unit determines that destination information other than the job sender is not included The server according to item 6 or 7, wherein the control unit deletes the job data from the job data storage unit even in the second print mode.
(9) When communication with the gateway is interrupted, access to the gateway is performed at a polling interval shorter than the polling interval when communication is not interrupted, and when the access is successful, the execution result is acquired. 9. The server according to any one of items 6 to 8, wherein the means acquires the execution result of the print job.
(10) A print job reception step of receiving a print job including designation of the printing device and job data to be printed from an external device to a CPU of a server connected to the gateway and the printing device via a network; Storing the job data of the print job accepted in the step in a job data storage unit; and printing instructions for printing the job data of the print job accepted in the print job acceptance step on the designated printing device. A transmission step of transmitting job data of the print job to the gateway, an execution result acquisition step of acquiring an execution result of the print job from the gateway, and transmission of the print job to the gateway Or after sending If communication with the gateway is interrupted before acquiring the execution result of the print job in the execution result acquisition step, it is determined whether the print mode of the print job is the first print mode or the second print mode. When the print mode determination step and the print mode determination step determine that the print mode of the print job is the first print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage unit and the second print And a control step for executing the control step of holding the job data in the job data storage means when it is determined that the mode is the mode.

  According to the invention described in (1) above, when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission of the print job from the server to the gateway or after acquisition of the print job execution result by the server. The server determines whether the print mode of the print job is the first print mode or the second print mode. If it is determined that the print mode is the first print mode, the server deletes the job data from the job data storage unit, If it is determined that the print mode is the second print mode, the job data is stored in the job data storage unit. That is, instead of storing all the job data, if it is determined that the first print mode is selected, the job data is deleted from the job data storage means, and accordingly, the job data storage means in the server Can be avoided, and the storage capacity can be effectively used.

  According to the invention described in item (2) above, a print job from a printing apparatus instructed to print to the server by the own apparatus is deleted from the server. Since the user is near the printing apparatus, it can be easily determined whether or not the instructed print job has been executed. Therefore, by deleting, priority is given to avoiding useless use of job data storage means in the server. On the other hand, a print job from a printer other than the printing apparatus instructed to print by the own apparatus is held in the job data storage unit of the server. If the user instructs a print job from a device other than the one that instructed to print on his or her own device, the user is often not near the printing device on which the print job is executed, so the specified print job is executed. It is often impossible to quickly determine whether or not the print job has been executed when the user goes to the printing apparatus to collect the output. In view of this, the job data is held in the server, and the user who has picked up the output can instruct the user to print the held job data from the printing apparatus, thereby improving the convenience of the user.

  According to the invention described in (3) above, when the print job does not include destination information other than the job sender, in other words, in the case of the print job for the user who has instructed printing, the second Even in the print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage means. If it is a print job for one's own use, the original data is owned by the user, so it is possible to issue a print instruction again. For this reason, priority can be given to avoiding useless use of job data storage means in the server by deleting job data. Conversely, if the print job contains destination information other than the job sender, in other words, if the print job is to be passed to another person indicated in the destination information, the print job is executed by the user who issued the print job. If the job data is deleted in this case, the other person indicated in the destination information cannot receive the output. For this reason, the job data is held in the server, and another person who has picked up the output can be instructed to print the job data held from the printing apparatus, thereby improving convenience.

  According to the invention described in item (4) above, when communication with the gateway is interrupted, the server accesses the gateway at a polling interval shorter than the polling interval when communication is not interrupted. Since the execution result of the print job is acquired when succeeding, the server can quickly acquire the execution result of the print job.

  According to the invention described in the preceding paragraph (5), when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission from the server to the gateway of the print job or before acquisition of the execution result of the print job by the server after transmission, If it is determined that the print job is in the first print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage means, so that unnecessary use of the job data storage means in the server can be avoided, and the storage capacity is effective. Can be used.

  According to the invention described in (6) above, when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission of the print job to the gateway or after acquisition of the print job execution result, the print job is If it is determined that the print mode is one, the job data is deleted from the job data storage unit, so that useless use of the job data storage unit can be avoided, and the storage capacity can be effectively used. Become.

  According to the invention described in item (7) above, a print job from a printing apparatus that has instructed the server to print on the own apparatus is deleted from the server, and from other than the printing apparatus instructed to print on the own apparatus. This print job is held in the job data storage unit of the server, thereby avoiding useless use of the job data storage unit and improving user convenience.

  According to the invention described in item (8), when the print job does not include destination information other than the job sender, in other words, in the case of the print job for the user who has instructed printing, the second Even in the print mode, if the job data is deleted from the job data storage means and the destination information other than the job sender is included in the print job, in other words, the print job to pass to the other person indicated in the destination information In this case, by storing the job data in the server, it is possible to avoid the useless use of the job data storage means and to improve the convenience of others indicated in the destination information.

  According to the invention described in (9) above, when communication with the gateway is interrupted, access to the gateway is performed at a polling interval shorter than the polling interval when communication is not interrupted, and the access is successful. Since the print job execution result is sometimes obtained, the server can quickly obtain the print job execution result.

  According to the invention described in (10) above, when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission from the server to the gateway of the print job or after acquisition of the print job execution result by the server, When it is determined that the print job is in the first print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage unit. When it is determined that the print job is in the second print mode, the job data is stored in the job data storage unit. The process to be held can be executed by the CPU of the server.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a server. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a gateway. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus. In the printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, a print job issued from a terminal device to a server is executed by the printing device while communication between the server 1 and the gateway 2 is ensured without being interrupted. It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of a process in the case of being performed. Similarly, the flow of processing when a print job issued from the terminal device to the server is not executed on the printing device while communication between the server and the gateway is secured without being interrupted will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation executed in the server 1 when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission of a print job from the server to the gateway or after acquisition of the print job execution result after transmission.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a server 1 called a cloud server, a gateway 2, a printing device 3, and a terminal device 4, which are connected to a network. Connected through.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the server 1 includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, a storage unit 14, a display unit 15, an input device 16, a network interface unit (network I / F unit) 17, and the like via a system bus 18. Are connected to each other.

  The CPU 11 performs overall control of the entire server-1 by executing a program stored in the ROM 12. In particular, in this embodiment, a print job sent from the printing apparatus 3 or another printing apparatus or the terminal apparatus 4 via the network is received and the printing apparatus 3 designated by the print job is caused to execute the job. In addition, a print job is transmitted to the gateway 2 connected to the printing apparatus 3, the connection state of communication with the gateway 2 is monitored, job data of the print job is maintained or deleted according to the connection state, and printing is performed. The execution result of the print job by the apparatus 3 is acquired from the gateway 2, and detailed description will be described later.

  The ROM 12 is a storage medium that stores programs executed by the CPU 11 and other data.

  The RAM 13 is a storage medium that provides a work area when the CPU 11 operates according to the operation program.

  The storage unit 14 includes a storage medium such as a hard disk. When a print job is received from the printing apparatus 3 or the terminal apparatus 4, the storage unit 14 stores the received print job data including job data to be printed, and other various data. And application programs.

  The display device 15 includes a CRT, a liquid crystal display device, and the like, and displays various messages, an input reception screen for a user, a selection screen, and the like.

  The input device 16 is used for an input operation by a user, and includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like.

  The network interface unit 17 functions as a communication unit that transmits / receives data to / from external devices such as the gateway 2, the printing device 3, and the terminal device 4 via the network.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the gateway 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the gateway 2 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, a storage unit 24, a network interface unit 25, and the like.

  The CPU 21 comprehensively controls the entire gateway 2 by executing a program stored in the ROM 22. For example, control is performed such as receiving a print job from the server 1 and transferring the print job to the designated printing apparatus 3, acquiring the execution result of the print job from the printing apparatus 3, and notifying the server 1.

  The ROM 22 is a storage medium that stores programs to be executed by the CPU 21 and other data.

  The RAM 23 is a storage medium that provides a work area when the CPU 21 operates according to the operation program.

  The storage unit 24 stores various data and the like, and the network interface unit 25 functions as a communication unit that transmits and receives data to and from the server 1 and the printing apparatus 3 via the network.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printing apparatus 3. In this embodiment, the printing apparatus 3 uses an MFP (Multi Function Peripherals) which is a multi-function digital multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scan function, and a facsimile function. In the following description, the printing apparatus 3 is also referred to as MFP 3.

  The printing apparatus 3 includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, a scanner unit 34, a storage unit 35, a printer unit 36, an operation panel 37, a network controller (N1C) 38, and the like.

  The CPU 31 performs overall control of the entire printing apparatus 3 and controls basic functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scan function, and a facsimile function, and transmits a print job to the server 1 based on a user instruction. Or executing a print job transferred from the gateway 2 and notifying the gateway 2 of the execution result.

  The ROM 32 is a memory for storing an operation program of the CPU 31 and the like.

  The RAM 33 is a memory that provides a work area when the CPU 31 operates based on an operation program.

  The scanner unit 34 is a reading unit that reads an image of a document placed on a document table (not shown) and outputs image data.

  The storage unit 35 is configured by a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), for example, image data of a document read by the scanner unit 34, print job data transferred from the gateway 2, and the like. Remember.

  The printer unit 36 prints image data of a document read by the scanner unit 34, job data of a print job transferred from the gateway 2, and the like according to an instructed mode.

  The operation panel 37 is used for various input operations and the like, and includes a display unit 371 composed of a touch panel type liquid crystal or the like for displaying a message, an operation screen, and the like, a numeric keypad, a start key, a stop key, and the like. A key input unit 372 is provided.

  The network controller 38 transmits and receives data by controlling communication with other image forming apparatuses on the network and other external devices such as user terminals.

  The terminal device 4 is a personal computer, but may be a tablet terminal or a smartphone as long as the device can instruct the server 1 to perform a print job.

  FIG. 4 shows processing when a print job issued from the terminal device 4 to the server 1 is executed by the printing device in a state where communication between the server 1 and the gateway 2 is secured without being interrupted. It is a figure for demonstrating a flow.

  In step S01, the user logs in to the server 1 with, for example, a user ID “A@bizhub.jp”, designates the printing apparatus 3 to execute printing, and designates the print job 1 (the circled number 1 in the drawing) by the arrow Y1. Assume that the server 1 is instructed as shown. The server 1 accepts this, associates the user ID with the printing device 3 in step S02, and in step S03, prints job data that is data to be printed together with print settings and the like in the area “A@bizhub.jp” Temporarily save to. In this example, for other users with the user ID “B@bizhub.jp”, a print job designating another printing apparatus is accepted.

  The server 1 establishes communication with the designated printing apparatus 3 and the gateway 2 connected to the local network, and transmits the received print job 1 to the gateway 2 as indicated by an arrow Y2. After transmission, the server 1 accesses the gateway 2 by polling and acquires the execution result of the print job.

  The gateway 2 transfers the print job 1 to the designated printing apparatus 3 as indicated by the arrow Y3. After the transfer, the gateway 2 accesses the printing apparatus 3 by polling and acquires the execution result of the print job.

  When the printing apparatus 3 receives the print job 1 from the gateway 2, the printing apparatus 3 prints the job data according to the print setting, and outputs a printed matter as indicated by an arrow Y4. If the printing is successful (step S04), the printing apparatus 3 notifies the gateway 2 of the completion of printing as a print job execution result, as indicated by an arrow Y5.

  The gateway 2 that has acquired the print completion notifies the server 1 of the print completion as indicated by the arrow Y6.

  Upon receiving the completion of printing, the server 1 deletes the data regarding the print job 1 held in the storage unit 14 in step S05.

  FIG. 5 shows a case where a print job issued from the terminal device 4 to the server 1 is not executed by the printing device in a state where communication between the server 1 and the gateway 2 is secured without being interrupted. It is a figure for demonstrating the flow of a process.

  In step S11, the user logs in to the server 1 with a user ID of “A@bizhub.jp”, for example, specifies the printing apparatus 3 to execute printing, and instructs the server 1 to indicate print job 1 as indicated by the arrow Y11. Suppose that The server 1 accepts this, associates the user ID with the printing device 3 in step S12, and in step S13, prints job data that is data to be printed together with print settings and the like in the area “A@bizhub.jp” of the storage unit 14. Hold temporarily.

  The server 1 establishes communication with the designated printing apparatus 3 and the gateway 2 connected to the local network, and transmits the received print job 1 to the gateway 2 as indicated by an arrow Y12. After transmission, the server 1 sends a print job execution result acquisition request to the gateway 2 by polling.

  The gateway 2 transfers the print job 1 to the designated printing apparatus 3 as indicated by the arrow Y13. After the transfer, the gateway 2 makes a print job execution result acquisition request to the printing apparatus 3 by polling.

  When the printing apparatus 3 receives the print job 1 from the gateway 2, it prints the job data according to the print settings, but it is assumed that an error has occurred and the print job has been deleted (step S14). As indicated by an arrow Y14, the printing apparatus 3 notifies the gateway 2 of error erasure as a print job execution result.

  The gateway 2 that acquired the error erasure notifies the server 1 of the error erasure as indicated by an arrow Y15.

  Upon receiving the error erasure, the server 1 converts the print job 1 held in the storage unit 14 into a follow-me print job and stores it in step S15. The follow-me print job is a job for specifying and printing the print device 3 from the print device 3 and printing it.

  Therefore, the user can print the print job input to the server 1 again by instructing the server from the printing apparatus 3.

  FIG. 6 shows operations executed by the server 1 when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission of the print job from the server 1 to the gateway 2 or after acquisition of the print job execution result after transmission. It is a flowchart which shows. This operation is executed by the CPU 11 of the server 1 operating according to an operation program stored in the ROM 12 or the like.

  When a print instruction including designation of the printing apparatus 3 is received in step S101, job data and the like are temporarily stored, and then a print instruction is issued to the gateway (GWBox in FIG. 6) 2 in step S102. In step S103, the gateway 2 And start a print job transfer session to start print job transfer.

  In step S104, it is determined whether transmission of the print job with the gateway 2 is completed. If it has not been completed (NO in step S104), it is determined that the session with the gateway 2 has been interrupted and the process proceeds to step S112.

  If completed (YES in step S104), it is determined in step S105 whether communication with the gateway 2 is possible. If communication is not possible (NO in step S105), it is determined that communication with the gateway 2 has become impossible after completion of job transmission, and the flow proceeds to step S112. If communication is possible (YES in step S105), it is determined in step S106 whether an execution result (print result) of the print job from the printing apparatus 3 has been acquired.

  If the execution result of the print job has not been acquired (NO in step S106), the process returns to step S105 to determine whether communication with the gateway 2 is possible. If the execution result of the print job has been acquired (YES in step S106), the communication session with the gateway 2 is closed in step S107, and the process proceeds to step S108.

  In step S108, the execution result of the print job is acquired at a regular polling interval for displaying the job result (for example, about several tens of minutes to about once per hour). Judge whether. If the process is normally completed (YES in step S108), the process proceeds to step S109, and the print job data saved in the storage unit 14 is deleted without being held, and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the execution result of the print job is not a normal end in step S108 (NO in step S108), it is determined in step S110 whether the print instruction has been transmitted from the printing apparatus 3. If it is transmitted from the printing apparatus 3 (YES in step S110), the process proceeds to step S109, and the print job data saved in the storage unit 14 is deleted without being retained. In the case of a printing instruction from the printing apparatus 3, since the user who issued the printing instruction is near the printing apparatus 3, it is possible to easily know whether or not the print job has been completed normally. It deletes and the useless use of the memory | storage part 14 is avoided.

  If it is not a print job transmitted from the printing apparatus 3 in step S110 (NO in step S110), it is determined in step S111 whether the destination information is included in the print instruction, in other words, a print job for passing to another person. Judge whether. If the destination information is not included (NO in step S111), the process proceeds to step S109, and the print job data saved in the storage unit 14 is deleted without being retained. If the print is not to be transferred to another person, the print data is held by the user who has instructed the print, and the print instruction may be sent to the server 1 again. increase.

  If the destination information is included (YES in step S111), the process proceeds to step S117, and the print job data stored in the storage unit 14 is held as a follow-me job. In this case, not only the user issuing the print job but also the follow-me job of the recipient's account so that the print job can be executed from the printing apparatus 3 by another person (recipient) indicated in the destination. It is good to do the processing to keep.

  The user who instructed printing may not be aware of whether or not the print job has been executed, and if the job data is deleted in this case, the other person indicated in the destination information will not be able to receive the output. For this reason, the job data is held in the server, and another person who has picked up the output can instruct the printing of the job data held from the printing apparatus, thereby improving convenience.

  If it is determined in step S110 that the print job is not transmitted from the printing apparatus 3 (NO in step S110), the process may directly proceed to step S117 to hold the print job data stored in the storage unit 14.

  On the other hand, in step S112, it is determined whether or not the print instruction is transmitted from the printing apparatus 3. If it is transmitted from the printing apparatus 3 (YES in step S112), the process proceeds to step S109, and the print job data stored in the storage unit 14 is deleted without being retained. In the case of a printing instruction from the printing apparatus 3, since the user who issued the printing instruction is near the printing apparatus 3, it is possible to easily know whether or not the print job has been completed normally. Since it is sufficient to submit the print job to the server 1 again, the job data is deleted to avoid useless use of the storage unit 14.

  If it is not a print job transmitted from the printing apparatus 3 in step S112 (NO in step S112), it is determined in step S113 whether the destination information is included in the print instruction, in other words, a print job for passing to another person. Judge whether. If the destination information is not included (NO in step S113), the process proceeds to step S109, and the print job data saved in the storage unit 14 is deleted without being retained. If the print is not to be transferred to another person, the print data is held by the user who has instructed the print, and the print instruction may be sent to the server 1 again. increase.

  If the destination information is included (YES in step S113), the process proceeds to step S114, and whether or not communication with the gateway 2 is possible is confirmed by accessing the gateway 2 by polling. This polling interval is executed at an interval shorter than a regular polling interval (for example, about several tens of minutes to once per hour) for displaying the job result. If communication is not possible (NO in step S114), in step S116, the print job data is retained without being deleted, and the process returns to step S114 to wait for communication. When communication is possible (YES in step S114), the process proceeds to step S115.

  In step S115, the gateway 2 is immediately inquired to determine whether the job has been normally executed by the printing apparatus 3 without waiting for the polling timing. In this way, it is determined whether or not communication is possible by shortening the polling interval to the gateway 2, and if possible, whether the job data needs to be stored in the storage unit 14 by inquiring of the print result immediately to the gateway. It is possible to quickly determine whether or not, and according to the result, the job data can be quickly deleted from the storage unit 14 to quickly ensure a storable capacity.

  If it has been executed normally (YES in step S115), the process proceeds to step S109, and the print job data saved in the storage unit 14 is deleted without being retained. If not completed normally (NO in step S115), the print job data stored in the storage unit 14 is held as a follow-me job in step S117.

As a result, the other person indicated in the destination information can specify the job data held in the storage unit 14 from the printing apparatus 3 to the server 1 and instruct printing by itself.
In this case, not only the user issuing the print job but also the follow-me job of the recipient's account so that the print job can be executed from the printing apparatus 3 by another person (recipient) indicated in the destination. It is good to do the processing to keep.

  The user who instructed printing may not be aware of whether or not the print job has been executed, and if the job data is deleted in this case, the other person indicated in the destination information will not be able to receive the output. Therefore, the job data is held in the server, and another person who has taken the output can instruct the printing of the job data held from the printing apparatus for convenience.

  If it is determined in step S112 that the print job is not transmitted from the printing apparatus 3 (NO in step S112), the process may directly proceed to step S114.

1 server 11 CPU
12 ROM
14 Storage Unit 17 Network Interface Unit 2 Gateway 3 Printing Device

Claims (10)

A printing system including a server, a gateway, and a printing device connected via a network,
The server includes a print job accepting unit that accepts a print job including designation of the printing device and job data to be printed from an external device;
Job data storage means for storing job data of a print job received by the print job reception means;
A transmission unit that transmits, to the gateway, a print instruction for printing the job data of the print job received by the print job reception unit with the designated printing apparatus, and transmits the job data of the print job to the gateway. When,
Execution result acquisition means for acquiring an execution result of the print job from the gateway;
With
The gateway is
Receiving means for receiving a print job transmitted from the server;
Job transfer means for transferring the received print job to the designated printing device;
Execution result acquisition means for acquiring an execution result of a print job from the printing apparatus;
Print result notifying means for notifying the server of the execution result of the print job by the printing apparatus acquired by the execution result acquiring means;
With
The printing apparatus includes:
Printing means for executing the print job transferred from the gateway;
A print result notifying means for notifying the gateway of the execution result of the print job by the printing means;
With
The server further includes:
Print mode of the print job when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission of the print job to the gateway or after acquisition of the execution result of the print job by the execution result acquisition means after transmission Print mode determination means for determining whether the first print mode or the second print mode is;
When the print mode determination unit determines that the print mode of the print job is the first print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage unit and is determined to be the second print mode. A control means for holding the job data in the job data storage means;
A printing system comprising:   The external device is the printing device, the first printing mode is a printing job from the printing device, and the second printing mode is a printing job from other than the printing device. Printing system. The server includes a determination unit that determines whether destination information other than a job sender is included in the print job,
When it is determined by the determination unit that destination information other than the job sender is not included, the control unit of the server stores the job data in the job data storage unit even in the second print mode. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system is deleted from the printing system.   When communication with the gateway is interrupted, the server performs access to the gateway at a polling interval that is shorter than the polling interval when communication is not interrupted. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires an execution result of the print job. A printing method executed in a printing system including a server, a gateway, and a printing device connected via a network,
The server receives a print job including a designation of the printing device and print target job data from an external device;
The job data of the print job received in the print job reception step is stored in a stored job data storage unit;
A transmission step of transmitting, to the gateway, a print instruction for printing the job data of the print job received by the print job reception step with the designated printing apparatus, and transmitting the job data of the print job to the gateway; When,
An execution result acquisition step of acquiring an execution result of the print job from the gateway;
Run
The gateway is
A receiving step of receiving a print job transmitted from the server;
A job transfer step of transferring the received print job to the designated printing device;
An execution result acquisition step of acquiring a print job execution result from the printing apparatus;
A print result notifying step of notifying the server of an execution result of the print job by the printing apparatus acquired by the execution result acquiring step;
Run
The printing apparatus includes:
A printing step of executing the print job transferred from the gateway;
A reply step of returning the execution result of the print job in the printing step to the gateway;
Run
The server further includes:
The print mode of the print job when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission of the print job to the gateway or after acquisition of the print job execution result by the execution result acquisition step. A printing mode determination step for determining whether the first printing mode or the second printing mode is;
If it is determined in the print mode determination step that the print mode of the print job is the first print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage unit and is determined to be the second print mode. A control step for holding the job data in the job data storage means;
The printing method characterized by performing. A server connected to a gateway and a printing device via a network,
Print job accepting means for accepting a print job including designation of the printing device and job data to be printed from an external device;
Job data storage means for storing job data of a print job received by the print job reception means;
A transmission unit that transmits, to the gateway, a print instruction for printing the job data of the print job received by the print job reception unit with the designated printing apparatus, and transmits the job data of the print job to the gateway. When,
Execution result acquisition means for acquiring an execution result of the print job from the gateway;
Print mode of the print job when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission of the print job to the gateway or after acquisition of the execution result of the print job by the execution result acquisition means after transmission Print mode determination means for determining whether the first print mode or the second print mode is;
When the print mode determination unit determines that the print mode of the print job is the first print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage unit and is determined to be the second print mode. A control means for holding the job data in the job data storage means;
A server characterized by comprising:   The external device is the printing device, the first printing mode is a print job from the printing device, and the second printing mode is a print job from other than the printing device. server. Determining means for determining whether destination information other than the job sender is included in the print job;
When it is determined by the determination unit that destination information other than the job sender is not included, the control unit deletes the job data from the job data storage unit even in the second print mode. The server according to claim 6 or 7.   When the communication with the gateway is interrupted, the access to the gateway is performed at a polling interval shorter than the polling interval when the communication is not interrupted. The server according to claim 6, which acquires a print job execution result. To the CPU of the server connected to the gateway and printing device via the network,
A print job accepting step for accepting a print job including designation of the printing device and job data to be printed from an external device;
Storing job data of the print job received in the print job receiving step in a job data storage unit;
A transmission step of transmitting, to the gateway, a print instruction for printing the job data of the print job received by the print job reception step with the designated printing apparatus, and transmitting the job data of the print job to the gateway; When,
An execution result acquisition step of acquiring an execution result of the print job from the gateway;
The print mode of the print job when communication with the gateway is interrupted during transmission of the print job to the gateway or after acquisition of the print job execution result by the execution result acquisition step. A printing mode determination step for determining whether the first printing mode or the second printing mode is;
If it is determined in the print mode determination step that the print mode of the print job is the first print mode, the job data is deleted from the job data storage unit and is determined to be the second print mode. A control step for holding the job data in the job data storage means;
A program for running

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